KEEPING TRACK OF GOD

“Clarity from our rear-view mirror”

So, what’s been happening in your life?  What’s new with you?  These phrases are commonplace aren’t they?   We often begin our conversations with either of these two questions; and that’s especially true if we’re chatting with a friend whom we haven’t seen or talked with for some time.

Have you ever journaled about a vacation, or taken a look down memory lane from your high school or college days?   Maybe you’ve lost a friend or a loved one in your family, and you’ve written about their lives and sensed some moments of comfort in your reflection of your lives together.

Several adjectives come to mind when I ponder the word “journalling.”  Some may call it a diary, but I enjoy the phrases:  “looking back,” “reflections,” or “rear-view clarity.”

I’m taking the time to pause right now from all my current responsibilities and just reflect about the discipline of journalling.

Most all of us have a calendar of months, weeks, days and times of the day.  Some days are full, some are open and free, but have you ever taken the time to look back on a month or even a year to see what it looks like from where you are today?   Everything in our lives behind today are events “in the past.”

At the end of every year, I enjoy a cup of tea and a wander back through each month of our calendar.   I have marked special events like birthdays, anniversaries, dates where close friends have said goodbye to their loved ones, and very special occasions that I never want to forget.   This adventure can introduce joy, laughter, tears and many an “awe” moment.  Looking back can help me remember and write down dates and annual appointments that I need to indicate on the upcoming calendar year.

Some may say, why look back when we can’t re-live the past.  But I would like to introduce another perspective that perhaps you haven’t considered.  

Had you ever thought about glancing in your own “rear-view mirror;” not to recapture it, but recall your Creator’s touches upon your life?   God is always working in and through each of our life circumstances to get our attention, and to help us realize “we need God!”   We need His forgiveness, His presence within us, and His guidance for our future.  For those of you who are reading about this “rear-view look” upon your life and you aren’t currently in a relationship with Jesus Christ, He has been pursuing you through His mercies and kindness in your direction.   He’ll never push Himself or His love upon you, but He waits for your invitation for Him to enter your life.

This direction of looking back can be a wonderful tool for experiencing joy, encouragement, and courage.   I’m speaking here to Christians (followers of Jesus Christ).

In today’s vernacular it’s called journalling.   It’s keeping a record of occurrences, experiences, observations, and reflections in your life.  I’m over the top with enthusiasm to share a meaningful perspective about writing about some of the following questions:

What has God been teaching you?  What are some characteristics you’ve been noticing about God in your walk of faith?  What difference has God made in your life over the years?  How and when has He made Himself so personally real in your life?   What are some of the struggles, and heartaches has He walked you through?   Where have you seen the innumerable ways God has intervened in your life?  In other words,

What has God been up to in your life?

I could go on and on with questions.  But I’ve found that “journalling” is a marvelous personal way of bringing clarity in your walk with the Lord, and it gives us a striking way of observing not only what God has been doing in your life, but how He has spoken into your life and heart.   He is real and personal.    I’ve found that writing about Him keeps my heart in tune with how He has led me in certain areas and opened opportunities, as well as when He has closed doors of opportunities.

In a tender way, it’s like we’re “keeping track” of His movement and care in our lives.   That’s worth writing about!!!!

These stories that I’ve been writing about is a culmination of looking in the rear-view mirror of my life thus far.   What clarity He gives us from the rear-view vantage point.   How often have we all looked back and said, “Oh, I see now…….”   The rear-view cockpit sheds more light than we ever thought possible.

These stories, all of them, are my true adventures of seeing God work and transform people, my circumstances, my attitudes, and my discovery of seeing that God does delight in the “details of my life.”

God has helped me see as I look back, that He has gone before me, and goes before me.   Another tremendous truth is that God can take the insignificant and make it magnificent.   He takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.

My prayer is that God will take these seemingly small incident in which He has shown up, and stir you to share everything with Him, and allow Him to use your precious life to influence others to walk with Jesus Christ.